Had they only incorporated the Pirate Ship Restaurant into the new fantasyland....That was one piece of eyecandy that looked good day and night! In Fact it was so well themed, that it was a great piece of "escapism", without having to get on an actual attraction, so long as you were facing the lagoon side of the ship!

Now I was all prepared to run the place down, smirk at the crazy changes they've made over the years and generally have a superior attitude about the whole experience.

But - we had a really great time! There were a lot of changes made that were new to us, and we LIKED them! I LIKE the Nemo ride, it's perfect for little kids. It's popular, its fun, the new sub costumes are cool, and the colors of the yellow and blue subs are perfect! It was FUN! Picking over details like the loss of the giant squid just seemed out of place.

The new bride at the top of the Haunted Mansion is freakin' scary!

So are the little dioramas/view boxes in the Pirate Island cave, the guy chained up at the end is really frightening and dead looking, when his face changes it scared the little kid in front of us so much he ran out screaming. Tht's gonna be one big emotional scar. He he heeee!

And the merch was really good. Well designed shirts are back. There was a pretty nice women's one with a 30's era Mickey and Minnie exiting a movie theater, Minnie gushing "I loved that movie! It was so romantic!" while Mickey just scowled at her. It was genuinely funny.

Somebody is doing everything he or she can to eradicate the Pressler Era at Disneyland, and it's working.

Our take on the whole park was so radically different, so upside down, that it really made me think and look at what the people working there were actually doing.

Most of the time they were cleaning up after people who litter.

And here's the very strong impression I got everywhere in that park; it was really made to make people happy. They try hard, they really do. Jeez, they've built a big pink and gold castle for you, there it is, right over there, and you can go up in it again. It's really cool. Here's a ride that takes you into outer space. Here's one that goes into deepest Africa. And it's all free once you get inside. If it's your birthday, heck, its all free anyway! And there's a big fireworks show at the end. What else ya want, ya bunch of bananas?

But are people happy? Do they go around smiling all day and having fun with their kids?

Mostly, nope.

I've never seen such bad parenting. It's disgusting. It's shameful. Kids scream for attention everywhere. They are yelled at, mostly ignored, yanked from one ride to another and I mean YANKED. Parents bring gigantic strollers so they won't have to carry their own children, and so they can strap them into a movable prison when they 'act up', meaning run around and have fun. I saw kids that were 8-10 years old who were banished to the stroller & locked in. Over and over and over, hundreds of kids. It was weird.

We saw kids screaming in restaurants for the entire time their parents ate lunch. At the end of the lunch the mom would give the kid the very last corner of her corn dog. The kid went dead silent while he'd eat it, then scream for more. He didn't get any. This would happen all day, everywhere.

Dogs are treated better.

And I can't tell you how many times I saw a parent shake a kid in furious anger. Or kids break into tears when they did it. Or parents promise kids that they were "... never ever coming back here!"

I have been at Disneyland in Ca. many times as a kid and teen, where it was 90 plus degrees and pretty high humidity.
and everybody sweating like stuck pigs
not a picnic at all.
but I'm sure its not as bad as Florida.

It's great to hear that people are going and having fun. I have annual passes for my daughter and myself and we go probably about once a month. The best thing about the passes is they take the pressure off to have to do everything at the park in one day - you can always come back another time!
I will tell you this for certain about going with kids, they are a pain in the keister! My daughter likes to start the day by arguing with everything I say. Then she moves on to complaining about everything she's experiencing. After several hours of too many people, too many lines, and too many OTHER people's whining kids on top of the crap from my own, it's easy to lose it. Don't get me wrong, there are days when we have a happy sunshiney fun blast of a day (actually most of the time), and there are days that just suck like a black hole. Usually the more people there (like now during spring break) the worse it gets. Happy place or not, that's just life with kids, and Disneyland is a place where people take their kids, so ya gotta get past it.

I admit I have taken my daughter firmly by the arm and hauled her ass to the sidelines to have a "serious" talk with her about her behavior, and threatened to "leave right now" between clenched teeth. I love ya honey, but if you don't shut up, I'll have to take you out! (just kidding- please don't email me about what a crappy parent I am). BUT, there is absolutely no excuse to ever, ever punch, shake, or put your kid in lock down. I think if I saw that, I would say something to the parent, then they can be pissed at ME instead of their kid. I do think people get under pressure to try and do too much and their kids don't get naps, or eat right, or even eat at all (those hot dog tidbits could be beacuse the darling refused to eat their own food earlier), or go to bed on time because they're trying to do too much in the day. It's sad to see for sure. But kids get way stressed out too by all the same stuff adults do, they just don't have any coping mechanisms. Parents should be better equiped to handle it. Thank god I can go over to California Adventure and get a beer and chill! Mommy needs her medicine! Then we go on California Screamin'! Wheeeee! And it's all better. I say, let's put the FUN back into the disfunctional family!

So for me the one thing that Disneyland doesn't do right is manage all the people they let in the gate every day. The lines to get in the gate, the lines for rides, the lines for food, the lines for the bathroom. It makes me cranky just thinking about it. I would be happier if they just had a lower daily "maximum occupancy" and then the people inside might actually enjoy themselves more. If I didn't get in on busy days, then so be it. I can go back another time. People who are on vacation should allow more time because it does get REALLY crowded during peak seasons. Learn how to really work the Fast Pass System and you're half way there. Take a kid with you that has a special assistance pass and you're home free! No lines for rides! Whooo! But ya still have the kid issues, regardless.

On 2009-04-03 00:24, Kiki von Tiki wrote:So for me the one thing that Disneyland doesn't do right is manage all the people they let in the gate every day. The lines to get in the gate, the lines for rides, the lines for food, the lines for the bathroom. It makes me cranky just thinking about it. I would be happier if they just had a lower daily "maximum occupancy" and then the people inside might actually enjoy themselves more.

I'll also add that, Disneyland has taken away every open area possible to accomodate more shops/vendors/carts to sell, sell, sell....They even reworked the whole walkway(s) at Rivers of America, just to cram more people into a much more confined area, for the fireworks and shows. The multiple paths are in essence smaller, but there are more of them. The overcrowding is rediculous, and makes for more stressful visits. Maybe that is one of the leading factors of frownie faces! I know I get upset at dodging crowds, strollers, uncontrolled kids, obese people carts, and the vendor lines that stick halfway out into a major walkways...For me, the crowds are the only thing that really burn and bum me out on my visits. I have yet to go on a rainy day, but it looks like I may give it a try one of these days.

Disneyland rules. My kids rule and are always well-behaved. The number of people crammed in just ups the rate of people happy to be there with you. Disneyland rules. My kids rule and are always well-behaved. The number of people crammed in just ups the rate of people happy to be there with youDisneyland rules. My kids rule and are always well-behaved. The number of people crammed in just ups the rate of people happy to be there with you. Disneyland rules. My kids rule and are always well-behaved. The number of people crammed in just ups the rate of people happy to be there with you. Disneyland rules. My kids rule and are always well-behaved. The number of people crammed in just ups the rate of people happy to be there with you. Disneyland rules. My kids rule and are always well-behaved. The number of people crammed in just ups the rate of people happy to be there with you.Disneyland rules. My kids rule and are always well-behaved. The number of people crammed in just ups the rate of people happy to be there with you. Disneyland rules. My kids rule and are always well-behaved. The number of people crammed in just ups the rate of people happy to be there with you.
This works for me.

if I would have acted up as a kid there, my dad would have smacked the shit outta me. and deservedly I think.
of course I was a well behaved kid out of fear of being beat to hell.
maybe that's whats wrong with me now.

as for going to D-land, when its busy.
F**K that.
I live to close and have been there to many times.

I'll just add this to my rant above and then I'm done - there are a lot of adults with very bad manners. They push, they try to cut in line and pretend they don't understand, they use their strollers as battering rams to get through a crowd, blah, blah, blady-blaaaah. . .
So you pretty much know who the poorly behaved kids belong to now, dontcha? I don't blame the children! I blame the parents who taught them how to behave!
Get a bunch of THOSE families at Disneyland on a crowded day and you've got a recipe for a pretty stressful day.
That is all. I'm going tomorrow to buy a Rongo bowl if there's any left!

So we went to California Adventure yesterday and haven't been there for quite a long time.

They're going to do a giant overhaul on the whole thing pretty soon, so we wanted to see it while it was still in the original presentation.

It was actually a LOT more fun than the average crowded day at Disneyland, more people were smiling, there were no bad tempers on display; it was strange. Cause California Adventure just isn't THAT interesting. Disneyland has about 1000 times more craftsmanship and imagination poured into it, no contest.

What California Adventure does have is lots of outdoor fun, lots of walking, not too much commercialization, and really great soft ice cream that has flavors swirled in with it. What's not to like? We spent at least an hour in the Grizzly Peaks area, running up and down rope ladders and getting wet on the river ride, burning off energy and having lots of fun. No lines.

It works.

But here's the deal – they’re gonna change the whole thing. Which could be really great with more rides, better theme areas, etc. But it looks pretty bad, cause they had a little presentation area that shows you exactly how they’re going to change the park.

And here’s what they’re planning.

They’re just going to give the whole thing to PIXAR.

And they’re going to change the whole entry area from California to 1930’s BURBANK.

That’s correct, its gonna be the wild wonderful, world of 1930’s BURBANK! They’ll have stores just like in the depression! Pharmacies! A shoe store! WOW!

And the biggest problem at CA has always been the heat and lack of trees, and any shade anywhere. So the giant new area at the back of the park they’re planning on building real soon is going to be CARLAND, just like in Pixar’s Cars movie. And like 95% of the area and ride will be set in the Route 66 desert. I’m not kidding. Now the real Route 66 goes through some of the nicest farmland, prettiest hills and most amazing scenery in the nation, but for some reason they’re choosing the Arizona badlands to compress the whole theme into. Just like in the movie.

“Waaaah! Mommy, I want to get in a car!”
“We left our car in the parking lot, son.”
“NO! NOT THAT CAR! THAT CAR!”
“Uh, we don’t want to get in a car and drive on a blazing hot desert highway, son. We can do that anyday on the 5 freeway.”
“WAAAAAAAH!!!!!”